Golf tee



Aug. 31, 1965 A. J. ANTONIOUS GOLF TEE Filed March 20, 1965 ANTHONY J.

ANTONIOUS INVENTOR I BY gm MW Z 'W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,203,760 GOLF TEE Anthony J. Antonions, Baltimore, Md., assignor of twentyfive percent to Leo A. Rheaume, Hyattsville, Md. Filed Mar. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 266,707 7 Claims. (Cl. 273202) This invention relates to improvement in golf tees.

In the game of golf, at the start of each hole a golf ball may be supported a preferred and predetermined distance above the surface of the ground or turf by means of a golf tee. It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved golf tee including a removable height-determining clip, the clip also capable of performing separate functions of golf club cleaning, club head aligning and ball marking, all quite essential in the game of golf.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying draw- In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved golf tee of this invention with the clip assembled thereon.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the golf tee and clip as used for determining the height the tee is inserted into the turf for supporting a golf ball a predetermined distance above the turf.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the golf tee and clip with a portion of the clip shown in section.

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan View taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 showing the clip retained on the tee.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 with the tee rotated 90 showing the means for assembling and disassembling the clip on the tee.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating one of the additional functions the clip may be used for, in particular, cleaning the head of a golf club.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of a golf green including the cup or hole and illustrating the use of the disassembled clip as a ball marker.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the tee of this invention as related to the head of a golf club and illustrating the use of the clip as a club head alignment fixture.

Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1, the golf tee is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. As shown in FIG. 2 a tee is inserted into the turf 11 on a golf course for supporting a golf ball 12 so that a golfer may drive the ball from the tee.

The tee itself includes a body 14 having a pointed tip 16 and a concave head 18 as is common with golf tees. However, the concave head 18 has a plurality of spaced knobs 20 about its periphery to aid in holding the golf ball 12 on the top of the tee. This becomes a problem especially on windy golf courses and the knobs 20 cooperate with depressions on the golf ball surface so that the golf ball does not easily roll off the top of the tee.

The body 14 of the tee includes a plurality of spaced grooves such as grooves 22, 24 and 26 formed only in opposite sides of the generally round middle portion of the body. A clip 30 is adapted to be inserted and fastened onto the tee body 14 for the purpose of providing a stop when the tee is inserted into the turf and thereby determining the height of the top of the tee above the turf.

In order that the clip may perform its height-determining function and may be secured to the body at any one of the various grooves 22, 24 or 26, the clip includes a central generally circular opening 36 and a lead-in passage 38 from the periphery of the clip. The throat 40 at the end of the lead-in passage is just barely wider than the width of the tee body at the base of the grooves, see

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FIG. 5. Thus, with the tee positioned so that the grooves line up with the lead-in passage, the clip 30 may be inserted on the tee. The tee may then be rotated relative to the clip to the position shown in FIG. 4. In this position the non-grooved edges of the generally round tee body 14 are wider than the throat 40of the lead-in passage 38 and, therefore, the clip 30 cannot be removed from the body 14.

It can thus be seen that the clip 30 can be inserted on the body in any of the various groove locations 22, 24 or 26 to determine the height at which a ball 12 would be held above the turf 11 by means of the tee 10.

In addition to providing a height-determining stop, the clip 30 has other functions. The clip 30 is provided with a spike-like projection 32 so that when the clip is turned over from the position as shown in FIG. 2 and is removed from the tee 10 it may itself be inserted in the ground. Therefore, the clip 30 may be used alone as a ball marker on putting green. That is, when one golfer desires to mark his ball on a putting green 13 While another golfer putts toward hole or cup 15, the first golfer may remove the clip 30 from the tee 10 and insert it into the green with the spike 32 going into the ground.

Another function of the clip 30 is to provide alignment of the golf club and to function as a golf club head scraper.

Both of these functions are performed by a straight edge 34 on one side of the clip 30. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 8 the straight edge 34 may be perpendicular to a line toward the green or in the direction the golfer wishes to hit the shot. With this alignment the golfer need only to keep his eye on the ball and tee and there is no need to look up to determine the direction, thus overcoming one principal cause of dubbed golf shots and other poorly hit drives. 7

As shown in FIG. 6, when a golf club G gets dirt, turf and the like on the face F of its head the clip 30 may be held in the hand H of the golfer and the straight edge 34 may be utilized to scrape off the face F of the golf club G. Thus, the face F of the golf club G need not become clogged with dirt causing golf shots to go askew.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the clip 30 has a raised ridge 33 which strengthens the scraping edge 34, permits fingertip control when aligning the disc and can be used as a pointer for any predetermined spot or area on the face of the club head.

The clip 30 could conveniently have advertising or the like thereon, thus constituting a convenient means of getting an advertising message or name constantly in front of influential people who play golf. Also, the clip could be any number of varied designs so long as it has the essentials of the straight edge 34, circular opening 36 with lead-in passage 38 and throat 40 plus ridge 33.

- The golf tee 10 including the clip 30 could be made of any number of suitable materials which are capable of being so shaped including plastic, wood, metal or the like.

As can be seen from the foregoing applicant has disclosed a unique improvement in golf tees wherein the tee is not only provided with an adjustable and easily removable height-determining stop, but the tee also has knobs on its head to prevent the ball from easily falling off the tee, and the clip has a number of functions in addition to determining the height of the tee head above the turf. These additional functions include its use as a ball marker on a putting green, its use as a club head and face cleaner, and its use as an aligning device.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A golf tee comprising;

(a) a tee body including a tapered pointed tip and a concave head for holding the ball,

(b) a plurality of pairs of notched grooves only in pposite sides of the body at spaced heights thereon, and

(c) a separable clip, the clip being a generally flat rigid disc-like element including a central opening and an opening throat leading into the opening, the smallest dimension of the throat and opening being slightly larger than the width of the body at the base of the notches but less than the width of the body which is not notched, so that the clip may be inserted on the body and then turned relative to the tee body to lock it onto the body in use to function as a stop to determine the distance the tee body may be inserted into the ground.

2. A golf tee as defined in claim 1 wherein the clip has at least one straight edge to aid in alignment of a golf shot and to also function as a golf club head cleaner.

3. A golf tee as defined in claim 2 further comprising a strengthening raised ridge on the clip of less width than than the entire clip extending inward from the straight edge toward the central opening.

4. A golf tee as defined in claim 1 wherein the clip has a spike projecting from one surface thereof and having a configuration including an outer tip sufiiciently pointed to allow the spike to be pushed into the ground of a putting green so that the clip With the spike inserted into the ground may be used separately as a ball marker on a putting green.

5. A multi-purpose adjustable height golf tee compris- (a) a tee body including a pointed tip and a concave head,

(b) a plurality of pairs of notches spaced along the body at opposite sides thereof, each pair of notches being at a different height along the body,

ciently pointed to allow it to be pushed into the ground of the putting green,

(f) a straight edge on the periphery of the clip so that it may be used as an aligning device when locked on the tee body or as a golf club face cleaner when removed from the tee body, and (g) a raised ridge extending from the straight edge to the projecting spike. 6. A golf tee as defined in claim 5 wherein the tee head includes a plurality of knobs around the periphery thereof for better holding action on a ball supported on the concave head of the tee.

7. A golf tee as defined in claim 5 wherein both the tee and separable clip are made of plastic.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,527,786 2/25 Cole 27333 1,597,740 8/26 Thompson 273- 202 1,625,911 4/27 Richards 273 202 1,645,001 10/27 Hodges 273-33 X 2,107,944 2/38 Howard 273-32 3,041,071 6/62 Fialon 27332 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Examiner. 

1. A GOLF TEE COMPRISING; (A) A TEE BODY INCLUDING A TAPERED POINTED TIP AND A CONCAVE HEAD FOR HOLDING THE BALL, (B) A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF NOTCHED GROOVES ONLY IN OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE BODY AT SPACED HEIGHTS, THEREON, AND (C) A SEPARABLE CLIP, THE CLIP BEING A GENERALLY FLAT RIGID DISC-LIKE ELEMENT INCLUDING A CENTRAL OPENING AND AN OPENING THROAT LEADING INTO THE OPENING, THE SMALLEST DIMENSION OF THE THROAT AND OEPNING BEING SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE BODY AST THE BASE OF THE NOTCHES BUT LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE BODY WHICH IS NOT NOTCHED, SO THAT THE CLIP MAY BE INSERTED ON THE BODY NAD THEN TURN RELATIVE TO THE TEE BODY TO LOCK IT ONTO THE BODY IN USE TO FUNCTION AS A STOP TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE THE TEE BODY MAY BE INSERTED INTO THE GROUND. 